About Michael C. Sedgwick, MA

Michael Sedgwick started writing on motoring when, in 1959, he became an assistant editor of “Veteran and Vintage” magazine. For much of that time he held the appointment of Curator of the then Montagu Motor Museum at Beaulieu. He also created the library’s master index and began writing books. In addition, he did much of the extensive research for major works by Lord Montagu on Jaguar cars, Rolls of Rolls-Royce, the Gordon Bennett Races and the three-volume “Lost Causes of Motoring”.

Michael resigned in 1966 to give more time to writing, although he retained links with the museum as Director of Research and as a member of the Advisory Council to the Trustees of the (now) National Motor Museum at Beaulieu.

A series of books followed. He also made extensive contributions to the Georgano encyclopaedias on cars, commercial vehicles and motor sport, and wrote regularly for magazines published in Britain, Australia, France, Germany and the United States. In all his books and articles the depth of research and his ability to see any era of the motor vehicle in perspective were apparent and widely acknowledged.

This was especially valuable for his work as an auction and sales consultant to Christie’s from 1972. In this field, as in his writings, his expertise became renowned internationally.

Michael Sedgwick’s devotion to research coupled with a retentive and photographic memory made him an outstanding repository of knowledge, which was always freely shared with others. The Trust fund’s encouragement to further original research and wider knowledge is particularly appropriate to his memory.

Michael died unexpectedly at his home in Midhurst, West Sussex, in October 1983 at the age of 57. He was educated at Winchester and Corpus Christi, Oxford.